The hippocampal formation is comprised of several regions including the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex. The hippocampus and entorhinal cortex are widely associated with memory establishment, retainment, and spatial information integration. We know a lot about connectivity between these two regions in the adult brain and, in general, have a foundational understanding about the interaction between the two regions. However, we know very little about how the entorhinal cortex emerges and what genetic paradigms encode its unique layering and the cell types that emerge therein. My work focuses on unraveling the genetic regulatory networks that instruct neural progenitors to mature into neurons that connect with other neurons within the entorhinal cortex and to the hippocampus in order to more cohesively understand how and why the memory circuit is established in the developing mammalian brain.
Quattrocolo Lab 